Published biannually

Transcription

1 Published biannually

2 TURKISH JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH 2004, Turkish Society of Public Health Specialists No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright holders. ISSN Printed by Graphis Matbaa Produced in Turkey by Ege Yayinlari Aslan Yatagi Sokak, Sedef Palas No.35/2 Cihangir Istanbul - Turkey Tel: +90 (212) Fax: +90 (212)

5 From the Editor Adolescence is the period which many young people initiate behaviours that may result in lifelong problems. These behaviours such as smoking, teen sex, eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse etc. have taken the place of infectious diseases in developed countries and are causing serious health problems in developing countries. In 2000, the United States Public Health Service identified these risky behaviours as 'new morbidities'. In this issue of TJPH, Bulut et al., Kir et al., Ugurhan et al., Aslan et al. all deal with above mentioned new morbidities and discuss the different aspects of adolescents health. Topbas and Oner discuss air pollution and Pap smear screening which are amongst important public health matters. Goffins bring to our attention the Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC) approach which may help practitoners working at the primary level who have no training or experience. Community Oriented Primary Care depends on planning the health care for the total defined population using the intervention programs based on the identified health needs, evaluation of care, multidisciplinary team, community involvement and the use of epidemiology at the primary care level. Hatun and Gonullu points out the prominent role of peace in child health in their letter to the editor. Four distinctive books, Building Better Health: A Handbook of Behavioral Change, Violence agaist Women: The Health Sector Responds, Vaccines: Preventing Disease & Protecting Health and Zoonoses and Communicable Diseases Common to Man and Animals published by the Pan American Health Organization are reviewed in the journal. We would like to thank all the authors and reviewers who contributed to this issue of the journal and wish you all a happy New Year. Editor Sanda Cali Turkish Journal of Public Health Vol. 2, No. 2, 2004 v

7 INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS Information for Contributors Aim and Scope The Turkish Journal of Public Health (TJPH) is a peerreviewed research journal published bi-annually and serving a broad audience in the field of Public Health and Community Medicine both nationally and internationally. TJPH aims to provide a medium for the rapid communication of advances and new knowledge in this field. The editor anticipates receiving manuscripts from the following areas of research: health policy and management, biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, health economics, medical demography, social sciences for health, health education, public health laboratory, community nutrition, infectious diseases, disaster management, accidents, women s health/reproductive health, child health, chronic diseases, and occupational health. Submission of Papers The following types of contributions are welcomed: 1. Original research articles: papers reporting original research findings in a relevant area (maximum 5000 words). 2. Short reports: preliminary/short reports of research findings (maximum 1500 words). 3. Critical reviews: authors are advised to contact the editor prior to submission of critical review papers (maximum 4500 words). 4. Notes from the field: Highlighting practicebased programs, initiatives of widespread interest, experiences to share with the public health community (maximum 1000 words). 5. Letters to the editor: a limited number of letters to the editor concerning the published papers in the TJPH (maximum 300 words). 6. Data: Data from nationally or sub-nationally representative surveys (maximum 35 tables and figures). Submissions will be considered on the understanding that they comprise original, unpublished material and are not under consideration for publication elsewhere. A cover letter to this effect should be enclosed with each submission, signed by all authors of the paper. All papers are published in English although submission of articles in Turkish is encouraged and will not prejudice editorial consideration. The authors may use either the British or the American spelling, but they should be consistent throughout the paper. Submissions undergo a two-tiered review process. The editorial board for overall quality and interest screens them initially. Papers accepted for formal review will be sent anonymously to at least two independent referees. Authorship Authorship by more than 6 authors requires justification. We adhere to the criteria of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (JAMA. 1997; 277: ). For manuscripts with two or more authors, each author must qualify by having participated actively and sufficiently in the study that is being carried out and reported on. The inclusion of each author in the authorship list of a report is based only (1) on substantial contributions to (a) concepts and design, or analysis and interpretation of data and (b) drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and (2) on final approval by each author of the submitted version of the manuscript. Conditions 1 (a and b) and 2 must both be met. Others contributing to the work should be recognized separately in an Acknowledgement. In the covering letter that accompanies the submitted manuscripts, it must be confirmed that all authors fulfilled both conditions. Manuscript Preparation General Manuscripts must be typewritten on one side of a white paper, page numbered, and double-spaced with 2.5 cm margins. Good quality printouts with a font size of 12 pt are required. Provide a word count for the paper and abstract. The original copy of text, tables, and figures should be sent to: The Editor Turkish Journal of Public Health Marmara University Medical Faculty Department of Public Health Haydarpasa Istanbul/Turkey Turkish Journal of Public Health Vol. 2, No. 2, 2004 vii

8 Information for contributors Manuscripts should also be submitted on disk using Microsoft Word. The file on disk should be identical to the hard copy submitted. Tables and figures should follow the text. Please label the disk with your name, the name of the file on the disk and the title of the article. Electronic submission would be preferred. Cover letter All authors must sign the letter, with one named correspondent (give postal and addresses and telephone and fax numbers). Disclose all possible conflicts of interest (e.g. funding sources for consultancies of studies of products). A brief indication of the importance of the paper to the field of public health is helpful. You may suggest up to 4 knowledgeable reviewers (include postal and addresses and telephone and fax numbers). First title page Include: 1) a concise title, 2) a running head up to 30 characters, 3) full names of all authors, with degrees and institutional affiliations at the time of the work, 4) name, postal and addresses, and telephone and fax numbers for correspondence and reprint requests, 5) word count for the whole text including the abstract, references, tables and figures and 6) separate word counts for abstract, text, and references and the number of tables and figures. Second title page Type only the title (to keep authorship unknown to reviewers), and remove other obvious indications of author identity. Text The text of the article should include the following: Abstract (up to 250 words, followed by up to 6 keywords), Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Acknowledgments. Each section should begin on a new sheet. Figures All figures (photographs, drawings, diagrams, charts) should be clear, easily legible, and cited consecutively by Arabic numerals in the text (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc) and should be placed on separate sheets. Legends should contain sufficient detail to permit figure interpretation without reference to the text. Units should be indicated in the figures. All line graphs and their respective data points should viii accompany charts so that they can be replicated on the journal s computers. Cost for printing of color plates will be charged to the authors. Tables Tables must be concise, as simple as possible, and cited consecutively by Arabic numerals in the text (Table 1, Table 2, etc). Each table should be titled and typed on a separate sheet. The title of each table should clearly indicate the nature of the contents. Sufficient detail should be included in the table footnote to facilitate interpretation. References Cite references in numerical order and as superscripts in the text. List all authors when there are six or fewer; when there are seven or more, list only the first three and add et al. Use Index Medicus (abridged) abbreviations for journal names. Do not reference papers that are submitted ; these can be mentioned in the body of the text. Cite personal communications in text only, giving source, date, and type (if , provide sender s address). References should follow the style described by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (www.icmje.org). The following are sample styles: Journal article Feldman HA, McKinley SM. Cohort versus crosssectional design in large field trials: precision, sample size, and unifying model. Stat Med 1994; 13: Book UNICEF. State of the World s Children. New York: Oxford University Press, Chapter in a book Phillips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, editors. Hypertension: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and management. 2 nd ed. New York: Raven Press; p Online book or web site Garrow A, Winhouse G. Anoxic brain injury: assessment and prognosis. In: Up To Date Cardiovascular Medicine [online]. Available at: Accessed February 22, Acknowledgements Prepare acknowledgments on a separate page. Upon acceptance, you will be asked to certify that you have listed all persons who have contributed substantially to the work but who do not fulfill authorship criteria and that you have obtained permission for listing them. Also required is disclosure of all financial and material support. If human subjects are involved, you must report approval by an institutional review board. TJPH adheres to the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association (JAMA 1997; 277: ). Turkish Journal of Public Health Vol. 2, No. 2, 2004

9 Information for contributors Author Disclosure Form Article title: Author s name: 1. I created the first draft of this manuscript Yes No If no, please explain how the first draft was generated. 2. The research/study was supported by a corporate sponsor: Yes No If yes, answer questions I have received honoraria (personal compensation) from the sponsor of the study: Yes No 4. I have received grant support from the sponsor: Yes No Date: 5. I have an equity or ownership interest in the sponsor: Yes No 6. I am an employee of the sponsor: Signature: Yes No Checklist for authors 1. Cover letter including: a. Title of the manuscript b. Intended classification of the manuscript (original research article, short report, etc.) c. List of all contents included in the packet d. Suggestions for specific peer reviewers (if any) e. Ethical approval by an institutional review board (if applicable) f. Disclosure of conflicts of interest (if applicable) 2. Justification for more than 6 authors 3. One hard copy of the manuscript, page numbered and stapled 4. One correctly labeled disc or electronic copy of the manuscript 5. Author Disclosure Forms 6. On the first title page, all required information: a. Title b. Author names and affiliations c. Corresponding author s contact information (including address, phone, fax, and address) 7. On the second title page, title only 8. Abstract (correct format and word limit) 9. Text 10. Tables and figures 11. References checked for accuracy, style and numbering Turkish Journal of Public Health Vol. 2, No. 2, 2004 ix

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11 ORIGINAL RESEARCH Supporting adolescents health in Turkey Aysen BULUT a, Hacer NALBANT b, Muhtar COKAR c Abstract The changes in the social structure affect young people. However, it is not easy to carry our original research for determining subjective values and the motivations behind their behavior - special research methods and interdisciplinary cooperation is needed. Most of the existing research has been conducted to show only the problematic behavior or how much the adolescent s health is affected biologically. Studies that fail to show the social, economical and environmental (family and culture) aspects of behavior are far from leading the way towards a solution. Information about the subjective values and behavior of adolescents and their reasons are essential for creating health programs suitable for young people. In this respect, qualitative research methods has been used to develop training programs for school teachers and candidate teachers who will have face to face interaction with adolescents at school. Nine focus group discussions were carried out in six provinces with 86 participants between years old. Topics of the groups were adolescence, reproductive health services and reproductive health information needs. Findings show that despite different demographic features and regional differences participants are open to discuss reproductive health needs, expectations and offer similar alternatives. Key words: Adolescent, reproductive health Introduction Protecting the reproductive health of young people has become one of the priorities of the world because of their increasing ratio in the overall population and the increase in the number of HIV/AIDS infected young people. The issues of Reproductive Health, Sexual Life and Health Consciousness in Adolescents have been discussed together during the United Nations International Conference of Population and Development in , based on the view that mother and child health cannot be improved unless a health consciousness is developed in young people. The rights of adolescents have been secured by the 1989 United Nations Declaration of Children's Rights 2. Improving young people's health is also among the most significant aims of 21 Health Objectives, which planned to be carried out during the 21 st century in the European Region of World Health Organization 3. General human resources information and epidemiological information regarding health are needed as well as information about the subjective values and behavior of adolescents and their motives are needed for creating health programs suitable for young people. The changes in the social structure affect young people. However, most of the existing research has been conducted to show only the problematic behaviors or how much the adolescent's health is affected biologically 2. Researches that fail to show the social, economical and environmental aspects of behavior are far from leading the way towards a solution. The CDC has identified six preventable behaviors that account for most of the serious illnesses and premature deaths in the United States. The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System monitors six categories of priority health-risk behaviors among youth and young adults. They are behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries, tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, sexual behaviors that unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs/including human immunodeficiency virus infection) unhealthy diet and physical inactivity 4. a MD, Professor, Istanbul University Institute of Child Health, Family Health Department b Sociologist, MSc, Istanbul University Institute of Child Health c MD, Human Resources Development Foundation Correspondence: Aysen Bulut, Istanbul University Institute of Child Health, Family Health Department, Istanbul, Turkey Turkish Journal of Public Health Vol. 2, No. 2,

12 Supporting adolescents health Individuals learn how to improve their health and prevent disease by developing skills and knowledge that can help them stay healthy. Adolescence is the most important period to develop and maintain skills and attitudes. Personal hygiene, environment, physical fitness, safe physical environment, safe sexual life are components of healthy behaviors 5. By physical changes adolescents become more interested in their appearance, and lack of self discipline, unrealistic expectancies of body, desire to avoid ordinary life styles can result in poor eating habits or other risky behaviors. During these risky period of transition, which is also seen as a period of opportunities because of the eagerness of young people to learn and grow into adults, young people should be equipped with the necessary information so that they can become healthy adults 5. Therefore research should aim to understand adolescents and their living conditions to develop interventions or implementation of interventions. The Situation In Turkey Nineteen percent of Turkey s population is between the ages of 15 and 24, and the ratio goes up to 30% when the age group is considered. In the future, young people will constitute an even greater portion of the population 6. The primary eight-year compulsory education includes the period of early adolescence. In Turkey, approximately 5 million young people can be reached in primary education, 2 million in high school and 1.5 million in college with more than 500,000 teachers in more than 60,000 schools 7. We understand that education is not the only solution to youth problems. Youth culture evolves with the changes in society, social values and economic conditions 8. However most of the population below 15 year-olds are accessible by school health programs, we believe reaching youth by schools would be one of the cost effective intervention and great opportunity for improving healthy life style in Turkey since an elementary education between ages 6 and 14 is compulsory. There is not a nationwide survey showing the health conditions of adolescents in Turkey. However, the population and health surveys (DHS) are important resources for national data. There is information in the 1998 DHS about married and unmarried women above the age of 15 and the husbands of the ones who are married 9. It's found out in researches that have been carried out every five years for the last 30 years that the age of marrying is constantly increasing and early motherhood is decreasing. Unwilling marriages of people younger than 15 years of age are seen to be more common among uneducated people and women in the East 10. The findings show that the ratio of women less than 18 years old is 4.4% among all mothers who have given birth during the last five years, and the ratio of women having the second child in the same age group is 0.5%. These ratios show that 50,000 adolescents give birth every year, and for 6,000 of them it's their second delivery. Only one in every 3 married women in the age group use contraception. Another finding of the last survey is that husbands have their first sexual relationship 4 years before the age of 23, which is the average age at first marriage. In the health and education programs discussed in the 8 th 5-Year Development Plan and Commission of Experts in Population, several ways of supporting the programs to give the young people, the responsibility of general and reproductive health and inform them are present under the entries 726, 728, 729 and 779. Reproductive and Sexual Health of Adolescents and Young People and Sexuality and Sexually Transmitted Infections sections of the Report give the detailed information related to the subject 11. In recent years, there s also increasing interest in organizing meetings on young people s health and presenting youth-related activities at national level 12. The first special event organized by the Human Resources Development Foundation (HRDF) in collaboration with Family Planning Association of Turkey for the young people is the Youth, Sex Education and Reproductive Health meeting which took place in November 1994 in Istanbul. During this meeting, experts and educators have come together to share their experiences and look for new strategies for the future and the most striking finding was the lack of training materials and trainers in that area. The foundation has gathered data in the field of training of trainers and producing training material, which aims to educate candidate teachers 13. Supporting Turkey's population related programs, United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) has given priority to the improving and expanding reproductive health education and services for youth recently. A model sexual health curriculum has been created for the students in educational faculties by 52 Turkish Journal of Public Health Vol. 2, No. 2, 2004

13 Supporting adolescents health HRDF in order to create a new powerful human resource in the field of education under the umbrella of a Turkish Ministry of Health Project supported by UNFPA in the same period. During the preliminary research conducted in the mentioned project the needs of educational faculty students have been determined by the individual questionnaires and group discussions, educators have been trained for the interactive training program, elective courses have been placed in the curriculum with the permission of Higher Education Board (YÖK) and senates of two universities in academic year. The Sexual Health Education, Teacher's Handbook has been given out to the students of the courses as a reference book 14. Issues of sexual education, perspective s on sexuality, population programs, decision-making process, physical and mental development, development of sexual identity and social sexuality are parts of the program along with the required service information and counseling skills 15,16,17. As a result of those successful activities, with UNFPA support, sexual health education classes carried out in 20 educational faculty in and revised edition of Teacher s Handbook was published. Extended project also developed to reflect similar improvements for eightyear compulsory education. A report has been prepared in order to share the findings on the current situation in Turkey with the experts and get their views. Journals, congress publications, published research reports, official documents and government publications have been used to gather information? 18. Though limited, there is also new information collected by using qualitative research methods from youth in the Eastern part of the country where previous studies have failed to focus on. It is aimed that the report might be a resource for further studies before the launching of the project, which would promote adolescents health. The scope of this article is the qualitative findings of student research in educational faculties and findings of adolescents living in East Anatolia. Although most universities were located in the West (Istanbul, Izmir and Bursa) only half of the university students were raised in western regions, others were coming from all over Turkey. This article emphasizes exploring the ways young people's attitudes and beliefs about gender and gendered sexuality inform and shape risk sexual behaviors (RSB). This analysis is based on the data recorded during focus group discussions (FGD), conducted as a qualitative part of the action/research project. Turkish Journal of Public Health Vol. 2, No. 2, 2004 Materials and methods Focus groups are used as a tool to learn the local language and getting the information on topics of adolescence, reproductive health education, sources for knowledge and reproductive health services. The purpose of Focus Group Discussion, which was the method used for collecting data on sensitive issues, was to obtain detailed information from young people and see the varieties. This method is a very effective one since it makes it possible evaluating the opinions and feelings of the participants and learn about their attitudes and beliefs in a very short time. FGDs with university students In March 1998, the study was conducted as a part of need assessment of educational faculty students at Uludag (Bursa), Dokuz Eylul (Izmir) and Marmara (Istanbul) Universities. FGDs were planned to develop a questionnaire form for fourth year students 19. Three focus group discussions were conducted by an anthropologist and a sociologist. Contacted faculty members informed students about the purpose and length of the meeting. Thirty students participated to mixed groups and each group took almost 2 hours. Some of the students were not informed well at the beginning, after introduction they decided to stay and all contributed to discussion. FGDs with high school students and out of school youth FGDs with youth living in East Anatolia were conducted in November-December The ages of 56 young people who volunteered to participate in 6 Focus Group Discussions which were organized as same sex groups, age were varying between 15 19, groups were facilitated by a sociologist, a psychologist and a general practitioner. Along with young people who were living with their families, boarding students in Van and Adana who had come from different Eastern and Southeastern Turkey also participated in the discussions. Among the participants were students from faculty of health education, school of nursing, vocational schools, young people who worked and received training in Apprenticeship Training Center, attendants of the Public Training Center courses and others who define themselves as house girls. 53

14 Supporting adolescents health Findings from FGDs Findings of FGDs are evaluated according to discussion topics, quotations of young people, university students (U) and high school students and out of school youth (H) show their original words. Understanding the difference between male and female All groups said that they realized boy/girl difference when they were 4-5 years old, and it became clearer at primary school. At puberty, girls were told to not to play out anymore (artık sokakta oynayamazsın) or play with boys (erkeklerle oynamaman gerek). Some activities seemed inappropriate you re a girl don do that (sen kızsın öyle yapma), they were given dolls and couraged to wear trousers to cover/hide their body (oraları buraları görünmesin diye). All participants agreed that gender bias was stressed by society especially families. This was provided by child raising and reminding by sex differences. Some of the girls said that this was a result of family attitude and they realized this result when they were not enjoying boy games anymore (U). Physical difference was made sure by seeing brothers (erkek kardefli görme), peeping or watching elder brothers in bath (abileri banyoda gözetlemek), playing doctor-patient games (doktorculuk oynamak). They admitted that they still did not know differences among adolescent/adult males. They accidentally saw the body changes of opposite sex; girls body changes is visible (Kızların her fleyi ortada), I learned the hair growth in man when I was 13 (erkeklerin özel bölgesinde kıllanmayı 13 yaflında ö rendim), we were surprised to see naked man jumping into the field in a game (maç sırasında sahaya atlayan çıplak adamı TV de görünce çok flaflırmıfltık), I was surprised when bull torn the clothes of man during bullfight (bo a güreflinde, bo a adamın kıyafetini yırtınca gördüm, çok flaflırdım). They emphasized the importance of knowledge on changes when you talk about it, you are labeled as pervert (bu konularda konuflunca sapık diyorlar), but it is normal and not a secret (bu flart, açıkça bilmeli, bunun ayıp olmadı ı ö retilmeli) (H). During adolescence they had more responsibilities relating to their sex, had conflicts with parents and had emotional conflicts (bunalımlı dönemler geçirdiklerini söylediler) (U). 54 Gender To prepare girls to adulthood by books, TV programs and education of family is a must. Some of the girls said girls are not supported for education that they might meet men (erkeklerle görüflür diye kızların okuması iyi görülmez), other girls who raised in different regions opposed to this attitude in west it is the opposite, man can do anything to earn money (batıda tam tersi kızın okuması gerekir, o lan nasıl olsa ekme ini tafltan çıkartır), girls should have an occupation (bi meslek edin de çalıflmazsan çalıflma). After that topic some participants admitted gender bias was so clear I was not aware of regional differences; mentality/attitude is very different, I saw the gaps (fiimdiye kadar hiç fark etmemifltim flu anda çok etkilendim, arada çok büyük bir uçurum var). Participants also underlined the pressure from families for getting married. They said fear of not being able to get married might result in wrong choices (yanlıfl tercih). Both female and male participants are aware of the expectations of the society and the sexual segregation due to these expectations. The girls said that the attitudes and expectations, which vary according to families and regions where they live, limit their lives and especially the way in which sexuality is conceived has a negative effect on their whole life. About Adolescence Boys identified some of the major changes as deeper voice and appearing of facial hair, and they expected these to take place. They also shared the fear, worry and shame resulting from wet dreams, when they were not properly informed. The interest in the opposite sex, curiosity about the female body and the interest in pornographic films and magazines were other transformations they reported. They said that they could talk about these only with friends and their interest decreases when their feeling of curiosity is satisfied. Information on changes Participants said they did get little or no information about the changes of adolescent period (U). Girls said they did not get any information on body changes and the most important change was menstruation for that period. Some of the girls were given information on menstruation but this was done after the girl had her menses. Girls who have elder sisters or cousins got information on menstruation Turkish Journal of Public Health Vol. 2, No. 2, 2004

15 Supporting adolescents health through them. Boarding school students were informed by friends and sometimes they had believed in rumors (yalan yanlıfl). Of all participants only one girl said she had menstruation information from school. Another girl said she felt uncomfortable when her parents were hesitant on giving information; one said she was able to talk with her family after a time period (belli bir dönemi atlatt ktan sonra). Girls with no information had different feelings at menstruation such as fear of dying and guilt. They felt embarrassed by changes in breast or any reference to growing up. They were affected by warnings about menstruation; you ll get infection if you swim, you ll have more pain if you run or ride bicycle. They said after all restrictions, they felt menstruation was not fair (U). Male students said they had information about changes by their friends. Some of them said they were embarrassed of body changes since they had no information from families and environment. Of all groups only one boy refused his father s request of talking about the subject, another one was scared when he practiced masturbation first time later on his father talked to him (U). Participants stated that attraction to opposite sex was another important issue of adolescence. The issue was shared only with friends (arkadafl çevresi). With adolescence their environment and friends also changed, transition to adulthood changed their social life. They started adopting new habits; hanging around coffeehouses (kahve hayatı), drinking (içki içme), swearing (küfür etme), going adult-movies (sinemaya gitme-porno filmler), adult magazines (dergilere bakma) to satisfy their curiosity about sexuality. They wanted to have information about sexuality from families or married cousins but their current knowledge was provided by friends or coffeehouses. They were also aware of disadvantaged position of girls; they cannot go to movies (sinemaya gidemezler) or cannot get permission from father s to watch football games and x rated movies on TV (babadan izin alıp geç vakit maç seyredece im diyerek televizyonda yayımlanan filmleri seyredemezler). Beginning to have periods, pimples, skin care and increasing interest in the opposite sex have stood out as major transformations during years of adolescence for girls: it was also seen that girls adapt to the changes in physical development more easily. Participants also said they had information about menstruation, growing of breasts, gaining height; pimples form elder sisters, cousins and friends. Their main concern was increase and permanency of pimples. Sources of Information Most of the participants said they were willing to have information from their mothers. Girls favored mothers and teachers as sources; some said if it could be possible they would prefer fathers. Student who wanted to have information at school said teachers should have skills to communicate with students. Teacher s attitude is important for acceptance by students. Some pointed out that to avoid conflicts with family, teacher should talk to parents, and booklets must be given to families (U). Participants defined information sources as knowledgably, experienced and trustworthy; friends know as much as I do (arkadafl benim bildi im kadarını bilir), if you smoke, he smokes too (sen sigara içsen o da içer), he must be more informed than you (senden daha bilgili birisi olmalı). They believe families or health classes give no information on sexuality, so they talk to their friends on sexuality but they do not trust their knowledge (H). Male students preferred school as source since parents were not well informed themselves. All participants agreed that information should be given by family at early stages of childhood. School programs should be implemented starting with preschool to adolescence. Students from Dokuz Eylul University suggested that family and school should act together to decrease conflicts. Marmara University students suggested to give information during adolescence (U). Sources at university Some of the students said they will seek professional help and others said they would get help from Medico-social Center. But there is another group of students who believed they cannot get enough information at university, their conclusion was a result of not having guidance services at school or having to much formalities for services. They also believed that if information were given at early ages there would be no questions at university level (U). Myths and Misconceptions Most of the students admitted that they do not have myths or misconceptions since they did get little or no information on sexual and reproductive development before adolescence. Small number of participants were misinformed or drew conclusions by themselves such as believing in kissing couples are Turkish Journal of Public Health Vol. 2, No. 2,

16 Supporting adolescents health extracting tooth- told by a parent-, assuming kissing is normal among girls, pregnancy by kissing and baby s only way out is abdominal (U). Concept of Health When asked about their conception of health, they defined a concept, which covered growing up, developing, healthy diet, sports, hygiene, physical and psychological wellness and clean food. The girls emphasized the physical wellness cleanliness and of food whereas for boys, the priority was sports for letting out the energy (U,H). Participants emphasized the importance of leisure activities, not to be exhausted, not drinking, not smoking to sustain a healthy life, developing such skills from early ages of childhood (H). They also regretted of sports classes, which failed to develop as a regular practice. They also believe exercise is a component of physical fitness. First aid is a necessary skill for lifelong. High school student who live in boarding schools were declared they were anxious about infections and hygiene (H) Participants defined health as basic and general categories. Basic health behaviors were defined as habits learned at the early stages of childhood within the family or in primary school, general health information was expected to be gained later through experts. Health classes or traffic classes labeled as insufficient by content and duration (H). In male groups, vocational school students listed psychological problems and conflicts with family at first, apprenticeship school students agreed with them but they gave priority to first aid and protection from diseases (H). In female groups most needed information came up as topics of uncovered issues (açık konular), secret issues (gizli konular), bodily health and woman s reproductive diseases (kadın hastalıkları). When probed, uncovered and covered issues were referred to issues related to sexuality and reproductive health (H). When asked about the topics on which they needed more information, they gave priority to secret issues, bodily health, women's health, psychological problems, family problems, first aid and protecting themselves from diseases. Reproductive Health When knowledge of pregnancy, delivery, birth control and abortion issues discussed in groups, it was found that girls knew more about reproductive health and had adopted responsible attitude. Some of the boys stated that they are not interested such 56 things and they related those issues as female responsibility. But boys had more information on sexual intercourse and sexually transmitted diseases (H). For most frequent reproductive health problems female adolescents said home deliveries due to shyness (utangaçlıktan dolayı evde do um), fear of sexuality due to strains (kısıtlama sonucu korku), bad consequences of sexuality due to misconceptions (bilgilenmenin yanlıfl olması sonucu-kötü sonuçları olan- cinsel iliflki), sexuality is normal for men, girls are scared (erkek için sorun yok, binlerce kez yaflamıfl, kızlar korkuyor), sexual intercourse is considered/perceived as dirty (cinsel iliflki pis bir fley olarak gösteriliyor). Knowledge and attitudes of male adolescents varied at groups. They said their knowledge was limited on opposite sex, I know they have menstruation but I do not know interval (kızlar adet görür ama kaç günde bir bilmiyorum), I wondered about conception, but could not asked (çocuk nasıl oluyor merak ederdim, baflkalarına sormaya çekinirdim), you become interested, ask adults not openly (ergenlikte merak bafllar, ama büyüklere üstü kapalı sorulur). Among the issues of reproductive health, they generally had questions about fertility regulation, terminating pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases. The most important finding of this part of the research was the fact that young people had trouble in relating sexual relationships with conception and sexually transmitted diseases. This shows the importance of lack of information on sexual relationship and its consequences. Sexual Health Almost all participants agreed sexuality was a need as hunger, sleep, in case of deprivation it causes problems. Sexually healthy person is defined as healthy, contraceptive user and monogamous. A female student defined as having periods for women and masturbating for men, another one said couples should come from un conflicting cultures and another one said 90 % of divorces originated from sexual problems. Sexually transmitted Infections When asked about knowledge of sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhea and hepatitis were most known diseases. Most of them had information on HIV/AIDS but they had no information about others. A male student described syphilis as feeling tired, discharge and spots on skin. Turkish Journal of Public Health Vol. 2, No. 2, 2004

17 Supporting adolescents health If they learn an acquaintance has STI they will take him/her to doctor and try to help. They believed that monogamy and being selective were major precautions. Other precautions were listed as condom use and hygiene habits. They think some infections like yeast come from swimming pools and public baths. Male participants said sexual intercourse had some bad consequences other than unwanted pregnancies. Dissatisfaction (tatminsizlik) and diseases (kapılan hastalıklar) came up at first. They had STI information from health books, encyclopedia, campaigns, posters and Natafla and transvestite news on TV. STI risk group was composed of prostitutes, their clients and people involved in zoo sexuality. However they were not aware of STIs without symptoms. Fertility Regulation Participants said that they know birth control pills, condom, female sterilization, intrauterin devices (IUD) and withdrawal. Some added that their mothers used IUD and had complications. They did not have any details. When they needed a method they will get detailed information from health institutions (H). When they were asked about services for contraception, Dokuz Eylul University students said they had information from sexually active friends, married friends or relatives and friends who are medical school students. They said everybody knew about pills and condoms; they are available over the counter in pharmacies. In case of contraceptive side effects they will get information from doctors or hospitals. Especially female participants seem to use written material more, they look up encyclopedia and read brochures but they still feel shy to go to seminars. Uludag University female groups used TV commercials, doctors and women s magazines as sources of information for pills. Marmara University participants said they had not much information but they could get it from Medico-social Center. Services for contraception and STIs University students said almost all of their friends got services from pharmacies, they use doctors in case of problems related to methods. Participants discussed service provisions of their place of origins. Unwanted pregnancies were terminated at private hospitals or injections provided from pharmacies. Private hospitals were preferred because of hygiene and extra money would keep them anonymous in case of sexual intercourse before marriage. Some students said especially state hospitals; even some private hospitals do not tolerate/accept sexual intercourse before marriage and people get scolded (U). Out of school male and females said that abortion is available for unwanted pregnancies but they admitted that they had no idea on conditions. Males were aware of induced abortion, females were curious about the medical procedure and they saw contraception as a solution. One of the male groups discussed the term unwanted pregnancy ; participants asked about how one could get pregnant without being aware. Findings show that they assumed all the pregnancies as planned (H). Adulthood When they are asked to define an adult, phrases like responsible, consistent, making the right decisions were used. They said that they needed experience to become adults themselves and criticized the adults for not supporting them while they were growing up by saying We can t understand what is wrong when they just tell us not to do something, a curiosity builds in us. Adolescents cannot get experienced by following adult preaches or by reading written material. They were also aware of adults who do not fit to their adult framework, even adults could get risk if they are not informed well enough. They gave an example of TV program men do not care HIV/ AIDS risk, they might have sex with HIV positive women (H). Sexual Health Education Model Findings from two sets of FGDs were similar, university students were more anxious to develop a proper model for sexual education and they also agreed sexual education should be given at school but they also included families and adult tutelage. Apprenticeship and vocational school students claimed that the classes should be held by a teachers they know and available at school like their guidance teacher. Since families are usually not consulted for issues like reproductive health and sexuality, participants are unsure about the information their families might have. The fact that these issues are not shared leads to feelings of insecurity and hurt for the young people and makes it harder for them to define adulthood. The families cannot communicate with their children about these issues, and even if they want to, they think that their knowledge might be different Turkish Journal of Public Health Vol. 2, No. 2,

18 Supporting adolescents health or inadequate. Families think that it's best for the children to receive this education at school. The participants define the situation of their families with phrases like family knowledge is inadequate, the family hesitates to talk about these, it would be a problem in the meanwhile, how much can my family know? Things like that are taught neither by family nor health classes, I learn then from TV or friends. They want their parents knowledge to be improved and the gap between the parents and the children resulting from the differences in knowledge removed (H). In almost all groups, the health educator who was first offered was the doctor, but as the discussion proceeded, the participants said, no matter who it is, the educators should be specially trained so that health education is given by knowledgeable and professional people. They also said that educational services could be provided by trained teachers in primary education and trained guidance counselors in junior high school onward (H). One of the participants form Dokuz Eylul University, said his information on sexuality was from religious information class. But having this information in same sex class, made him believe sexuality is embarrassing. Participants considered having sexual education in mixed classes (U). Students without mixed education also offered same sex classes, others told that health educator could handle giggling and shyness, provide a neutral environment and after 1-2 weeks everyone accept it as regular. They also said that they would like to attend HIV/AIDS seminars but these seminars should be simplified for ordinary participants. People do not like seminars since information is presented in medical jargon (H). Students said that if sexual intercourse is not encouraged or supported families will not oppose sexual health training. Some students said they were asked, What will you do if you find out one of your students engaged in sexual activity in developmental psychology class, but did not get any information on sexual behavior themselves (U). Participants from Public Training Center said families and mothers are inadequate for sexual health training and schools are better as sources (H). Findings and comments Adolescents appreciate experience and they show that they are open to change their attitudes in adults guidance. Adolescents whose families have higher level of education are in a better position and female participants feel more responsible than 58 males under the same circumstances. They are also aware of lack of information of males and importance of male participation for improvement of sexual health. Researchers concluded that this difference might be a result of gender roles, expectancies and social structure. Supporting Sexual Health of Youth Project was conducted in Izmir, Bursa and Istanbul, but participants were coming from different regions and social classes. Lack of information among participants was similar in Van, Adana and Erzurum participants. Only social structure and family pressure was different. All participants were willing to acquire information and are aware of their need for information. All male participants had lack of information but during FGDs participants from vocational health schools were more confident and talkative, however, participants from apprenticeship schools had trouble in expressing themselves. Those participants are described their needs and health problems in a realistic way. They need special attention and improvement of training schedule since their attitude and behavior is more open to influence of their families and foremen/trainers. Comments Improvement of child health has been a priority for the development programs. There is increasing evidence that countries are supported and almost forced by international organizations to implement these programs. It is a process, which lasts for a lifetime and should even be started a few generations before. Wide precautions such as preventing unwanted pregnancies, improving child health, raising children and youths under secure conditions, having a safe sexual life, possessing the right of reproduction and taking advantage of lifelong reproductive health services are needed in order to have a generation of children whose majority is healthy. In Turkey where an eight-year education is compulsory, the contributions of schools and thousands of teachers are a valuable resource for improving the health of more than 10 million children between the ages 6 and 14. This opportunity might be useful in providing the families and children with a concern for health in the long term by improving the health of children and young people who are future parents. This would be extremely important since social inequalities exist in the community and family structure and income differs accordingly. A decade ago, more people were supporting the idea that package programs and campaigns in order Turkish Journal of Public Health Vol. 2, No. 2, 2004

19 Supporting adolescents health to improve world health should be developed and these activities should be generalized so that they can be carried out everywhere. Similar suggestions also grabbed the attention of many social scientists. Today, almost all the experts accept that seeing all countries and their citizens as a large whole makes it harder to understand and solve the problems. The reliability of data collected from the same population using different methods and from different populations using the same method in measuring reality and forming a solution is also to be widely questioned. Therefore, every society, every region and every problem is special and needs original solutions 20. What should we do? It is seen that the needs of youth in Turkey are quite similar to the needs of young people in other places in the world 3. Developing sustainable strategies that can reach all young people and be repeated is important for the issue of adolescent health. In that respect, the necessary actions that should be carried out in order to improve the reproductive health of young people in Turkey can be summarized under a couple of general headings: Developing the general abilities of teachers within the education system and establishing a youthfriendly informing system would be a very important service to meet their needs. With activities that can be defined as hidden curriculum including all age groups and carried out by trained and volunteer teachers supported by medical personnel, the general abilities of the students should be developed. In addition, the suitable environments should be created with the help of special programs so that they acquire positive attitude and behavior. Trained medical staff to provide the related services requires proper policymaking, supporting physical environment, time and expenses, which are needed. The arrangements can be done with the help of public or private sector. Supporting health organizations that will be integrated into schools and will work for low wages should be a priority in Turkey. The students state that they require some support in preserving and developing mental health and making use of their free time. Young people who are expected to cope with the examination stress are under a lot of pressure and driven into loneliness or relationships they cannot control in the urban life, kept away from sports and other extracurricular activities that would help them develop themselves in several ways. The number of students who say that they're having some psychological problems is large enough to be taken seriously. It is desired that young people not going to school and all families should take advantage of the services offered. However, the basic approach for the long run should be that the priorities and the capabilities should be taken into consideration while using the limited resources and they should be organized in order to meet the needs of individuals from all ages. We believe the support for the out of school youth will be available in the near future. Population growth in Turkey indicates that the number of children belonging to the 0-14 age groups is now stabilized, but the population belonging to the age group has been increasing since the last 10 years and this increase continue throughout the next 10 years. The doubling numbers of the population of young people for the next years shows us that the services given to this group should also are doubled 6. We are also aware that the young population is the most valuable resource for Turkey's future. As a result, it is desired that we offer high quality services. Among the first services to be provided to this group are reproductive health services. Helping children to grow into capable adults is among the most important goals of all countries in the world. The project, which was the reason behind creating this report, was prepared as a contribution to reach this goal. While the activities are designed, the steps of generating an action plan that is used in management should be followed. These steps are defining the problem, choosing the solution among alternatives by taking into consideration the resources and possibilities at hand and developing a detailed activity plan for the chosen solution. The institutions will collaborate in the short and long run and conduct the following activities, which aim at organizing the acts for developing a consciousness of health in the ways, which are desired: * The improvement of the contents of curriculum of our eight years compulsory education system * Educating the candidate teachers in order to be able to carry out the programs that are developed Further education for the existing teachers in short term courses would also require organizing extracurricular activities aiming at developing the students' consciousness of health until the above actions are completed. Turkish Journal of Public Health Vol. 2, No. 2,

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